Florence (EFE) for teaching his students Michelangelo’s David.
“Thinking that the David is a symbol of pornography is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Even more so when it is a symbol of rebirth and beauty,” says the councilor in a conversation with EFE from Palazzo Vecchio, hours after talking with the teacher.
The mayor was in New York, to attend a United Nations event, when he was “shocked” to learn of the resignation of the teacher, motivated by the direction of a Florida school after a parent protested that the students in one class, ages 11-12, viewed an uncensored male nude.
It was the sculpture completed by Michelangelo in 1504 and exhibited in Florence, where it receives almost two million visitors a year in the Accademia Gallery and a replica watches passers-by in Piazza della Signoria, in front of the City Hall.
“I have had a long conversation with her and I have expressed the solidarity of the people of Florence,” says Nardella, of the Democratic Party (PD).
Florence invites the professor from the USA who taught the sculpture of David
The city council has invited the teacher, Hope Carrasquilla, to visit the city and has promised to give her an award for having “the courage not to accept the ultimatum she was given and to remain consistent with her commitment to teaching.”
The news of the dismissal of his resignation, with repercussions throughout the world, has given great publicity to this Italian city that already receives millions of tourists annually, a volume that does not quite convince the mayor, who declares himself disappointed by tourism based on “consumerism” and “fun”.
“Tourists who come to Florence for a few hours, take photos and leave without understanding the heritage of the city, make me a little angry”, she is sincere.
For the mayor, “tourism should not be just entertainment” and it is imperative to invest in a cultural one, based on “wisdom and knowledge.”
In fact, the city recently experienced another affront against one of its monuments, when a group of environmental activists painted the facade of Palazzo Vecchio orange in broad daylight protest.
“In this age of specialization we risk losing sight of the values that have sustained modern civilization. And Florence is a fundamental part of that world heritage, ”she warns.
“That’s why I think that art history should be taught more, especially the Renaissance and not only in Europe,” he says. If we lose sight of culture, we will also fail in fields like technology, economics, and physics.”